Our History: 2014

In the news

Pacific dance residencyKapi-Mana News 13.05.2014

Tuaine-Nurse Robati is the 2014 Pacific Dance artist in residence. The residency, which runs for two months, was made possible by a collaboration between Pacific Dance New Zealand, Dance Aotearoa NZ, Pataka and Creative New Zealand.

Tuaine is focusing his residency on teaching high school students from the Porirua area. He will mentor several young apprentices - Julien Lameka Nehemia (Meka), Te Hau Winitana and George Teinakore George, graduates of Whitireia and previously tutored by Tuaine.

Building the futureNorthern Courier 25.06.2014

Whitireia carpentry students are putting the skills they learn to the test by building a house. Work on the residential dwelling on site at the Elsdon campus in Porirua began earlier this month. The 131m2 house is expected to take students about six months to finish with a November finish being the goal. Once complete, the house will be marketed for sale as a transportable home.

"Building an actual house is one of the best learning tools for students," said Noel Aunoa, Carpentry Tutor, Whitireia. "It provides the students with great practical experience; they gain a clear understanding of how things work on a building site."

The carpentry course, a shared programme with WelTec in Petone, is a one year course aimed at preparing students with the knowledge and practical skills needed to enter the construction industry.

One head to rule both polytechnicsDominion Post 10.11.2014

A single chief executive will be appointed for Whitireia and WelTec polytechnics early next year, in a further merging of the two institutions. Petone-based WelTec and Whitireia, with campuses in Porirua and Wellington, have been governed by one council since 2012, and have a single academic board.

Whitireia chief executive is Don Campbell, while WelTec is led by Linda Sissons. The union has guided both polytechs through a challenging few years, council chair Roger Sowry said. "A move to a single leadership model is appropriate, while retaining the distinctive culture of each."

App boost to te reo MāoriKapi-Mana News 25.11.2014

A first of its kind mobile application will teach New Zealand children te reo Māori while they have fun. Launched earlier this month to children at Ngāti Toa Puna Reo Whiri Atu Whiri Mae is a collaboration between the iwi and Whitireia Polytechnic.

The application was the brainchild of Bachelor of Information Technology second-year student, Gina Solomon, who has Ngāti Toa affiliation. "I was trying to find something for my niece and nephew in Australia. I was looking for an app to teach them te reo and I couldn't find one," she said.

Solomon began working on the app with three third-year students, who used it as their final project.